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Florida loses to Mississippi in final seconds

 
Michael Frazier scores a season-high 27 and hits 6 of 8 3’s.
Michael Frazier scores a season-high 27 and hits 6 of 8 3’s.
Published Jan. 25, 2015

OXFORD, Miss. — Faced with a chance to lead Mississippi to a thrilling last-minute victory, Jarvis Summers came through not once but twice.

The Rebels guard hit an 18-foot jumper and two free throws in the final 30 seconds to push Mississippi past Florida 72-7 Saturday. The 6-foot-2 senior has nearly 1,500 points during an accomplished career, but few were as important as those four.

"He's an all-league player," Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy said. "He's been here before. We need him to carry us in these situations."

Ole Miss (12-7, 3-3 SEC) trailed for much of the game but rallied from a 69-65 deficit with a little more than two minutes left. Summers was the difference during the tense, back-and-forth final possessions, sinking a jumper just inside the 3-point line to push Ole Miss ahead 70-69 with 27.9 seconds left.

Florida retook the lead when Tampa's Michael Frazier made two free throws with 9.8 seconds left, but Summers wasn't finished, driving to the basket on the next possession before being fouled.

He hit both free throws with 3.5 seconds left to give Ole Miss the 72-71 lead. Florida's Kasey Hill failed to get a contested layup off as time expired.

UF (10-9, 3-3) lost despite making 12 of 20 3s (60 percent). Frazier scored a season-high 27 and made 6 of 8 3-pointers.

The Gators have lost three straight.

"This was a microcosm of how little room for error there is," coach Billy Donovan said. "If you look at the stat sheet, in just about every area, we won the battle. Free-throw battle. 3-point battle. … But that just goes to show you how hard it will be for us unless we can really become a very disciplined, connected team."